Daily Gratitude: As we get all ramped up for the beginning of the year, let us remember this quote.
You have to start small. If you don’t, I bet you’ll miss some things that are crucial elements of your basic foundation.
Take all those goals on your 2026 list and break them down. I’m sure you can remember all my posts on “chunking”. It’s fine to have a single goal list but then why not make a goal notebook. A 3 ring binder that can be sectioned off – one section per goal. This is where you can add one or as many sheets of paper as you need. One can have your original chunks. Then maybe a piece of paper for each chunk. Make this a goal workbook. It doesn’t do you any good to have a list of goals you never do anything with.
Think about this. Make your goal or project achievement easy for yourself. And yes you can use a computer if you have an app that can enable you to do the dividing up and adding as needed.
Daily Gratitude: It’s nice of this feeling comes at the end of the year so you can feel the magic of the new beginning at the beginning of a new year. But did you ever wonder why this arbitrary number or date has become so powerful in our lives? Why do we all have to have something new and special at exactly the same time?
Why can’t any and every day be the new beginning we want and cherish? It’s sad if we feel so indoctrinated that all good projects have to be put off for “6 more months until the first”. That’s now a lot of people think so they’re always waiting.
Isn’t NOW the best time to begin something you’re excited about? I think it is. That way we cultivate the beautiful feeling of starting something new.
Can you try to revise not only your thinking on this but also your practice? Can you make any day New Year’s Day?
Daily Gratitude: Since everyone is considering (at least…between shopping lists) some sort of change for the new year, think about this quote.
I never really thought about discipline in my life….until I kept having to switch to “crewed” status at vol state. I finally realized it was a mental thing and then I accepted that I didn’t have the mental discipline I needed.
As a result I spent a year studying and practicing the art of mental discipline and the following summer I was able to finish the race without switching.
The other area I’ve had to apply discipline in is in my daily hotline call. I don’t always have topics that I think are pertinent. But I have to come up with something. That’s a challenge but since I’ve committed to it, I find something to talk about. Doing that has taught me almost as much as doing Vol State uncrewed.
What are some (or at least one) area in your life that you want to get better at (in)?
Once you answer that question, then ask yourself what it will take to achieve that. Break it down into tiny do-able steps so you don’t bite off more than you can chew. Figure out how you can ensure you can do these tiny steps on a CONTINUOUS basis. That is the key to all success. Doing the same things over and over, knowing that mastery of the foundation is required to build the rest of the pyramid (for example). If your foundation isn’t solid, the rest of your project may come crumbling down with the smallest of winds of adversity.
Decide these things now before you declare that you’re going to do x, y, or z. Take your time. There is no rule that says you have to start something on the 1st of January. That is not the 11th commandment.
Last year I started my hotline on the 13th of January. People were probably wondering (if they thought about it at all) “who the heck starts something in the middle of the month?” I do.
Why? Because I was going to be at a 6 day race over the 1st and then when it was over i had to drive home and get ready etc. Why would I have wanted to set myself up for failure just to start on the 1st when I knew things just wouldn’t be ready.
Think of all your variables before you make your plans. Then nothing can stop you! You’ll have no regrets even if that one thing doesn’t succeed. You will have developed the skills (and yes you will have also worked out your discipline muscles) for your next endeavor.
